When Even Our Heroes Are Flawed
Few things are more discouraging than learning that one of your heroes had significant flaws, erred theologically, or committed grievous sin. Even when your heroes are historical figures, making such a discovery can leave you feeling disoriented and potentially unsure about the otherwise valuable contributions that person made. “If my hero did this or thought that,” we might ask, “then does it discredit all of the other things I love...
Theological Retrieval for Evangelicals: A Review
My first significant exposure to historical theology occurred during college in a course that covered the creeds and councils of the early Church. I was astonished by the brilliance of these early Christian pastors, theologians, and philosophers as they wrestled with important theological truths. They often did so in response to various heretical teachings from influential teachers such as Arius and Marcion. Reading primary and...
Who Is An Evangelical? A Review
Who is an evangelical? That is a complex question. We often hear the term evangelical used today in reference to American politics, but that is a very narrow (one might say misguided) understanding of historical evangelicals and evangelicalism. In Who Is an Evangelical?, Thomas Kidd attempts to answer the question historically by tracing the roots of American evangelicalism from the eighteenth century through the election of Donald...
Who Is Jesus? William Whiston and Athanasius Convicted of Forgery
Introduction Who is Jesus Christ? It’s hard to imagine a more foundational question for the Christian faith. In fact, after Jesus’ own disciples rattled off other peoples’ opinion of Him, He directly asked them: “But who do you say that I am?” (Mark 8:29, ESV) In some ways, the answer may be simple, but, in other ways, it is more complex than we might expect. Some have argued that Jesus is a created being, even the greatest of all...
The Fourth Strand of the Reformation: A Review
Evangelicals exist along a spectrum concerning their interest in ecclesiology. Some are largely disinterested in what the Bible says about how to structure the local church. Yet others express a revived interest in ecclesiology, which ministries such as 9Marks have deeply influenced in the Baptist world. Where we fall on this spectrum isn’t driven entirely by our soteriology either. We might be tempted to think that the interest in...
Recent Comments